Continuing Medical Education in the Time of Social Distancing: The Case for Expanding Podcast Usage for Continuing Education.

ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing society to re-evaluate how it educates learners of all levels, from medical students to faculty. Travel restrictions and limits on large public gatherings have necessitated the cancelling of numerous regional and national conferences as well as local grand rounds at many academic centers. Podcasting provides a potential solution for providing CME in a safe, socially distant way as an alternative to these more traditional CME sources for health care professionals. Using a popular CME podcast for pediatric hospitalists as an example, this article describes the many advantages that podcasting poses over more traditional CME methods, outlines some of the methodological and technological considerations that go into creating a high-quality podcast, and describes how podcasting can be leveraged during a global pandemic. Finally, we identify areas for further research regarding podcasting, including effective ways to virtually replace the more social and community building aspects of traditional conferences and grand rounds.